


Goodbye Opportunity

by Cornerofmadness



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 18:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17792297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness
Summary: They have to mourn another loss.





	Goodbye Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer** \-- Chuck Lorre owns all
> 
> **Warning** \-- none
> 
> **Author’s Note** As seems to be my way, every time I have a geeky or scientific loss, I express it in _The Big Bang Theory_ fanfic. What can I say? Mostly we have the same heroes!

X X X

 

"It's the day before Valentine's day." Penny flopped on the couch next to Leonard. She draped an arm around his shoulders. "Are you remembering how many times I've ruined that stupid holiday? You look so sad."

Leonard reached under his glasses and wiped his wet eyes. "No, Opportunity died."

Penny wrinkled her nose. "No, I'm sure your opportunity for romance is still a go."

He made a soft sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "No, Opportunity is the name of the Mars rover."

Someone knocked on the door before Penny could respond, Amy opened the door and hauled Sheldon in. His face, tight and pale, set off alarms in Penny's head. Something was up she wasn't quite getting.

Amy sighed. "I was hoping Leonard was taking the news better and could help Sheldon, but I should have known better."

"Are you two actually crying over a _machine_?" Penny asked. She might have known them for years but there were days she just didn't get these men.

"It wasn't just a machine. It was the Mars rover, Penny!" Leonard said, twisting on the couch to look at her with that expression on his face that said he couldn't believe she didn't get it.

"Yeah, the thing Howard drove into a ditch once, right? Trying to impress a girl." Penny shrugged. "He offered me a chance at driving it."

"Really?" Amy widened her eyes. "I would have killed for that chance."

"Opportunity was only supposed to run for ninety days," Leonard explained. "It ran for nearly two thousand. It sent back so much data that our understanding of Mars is vast, more than we could have hoped for."

"Hoped, that's the best word for it. It allowed us to hope and dream. We're planning colonies on Mars now thanks to Opportunity." Sheldon sighed, gesturing to Leonard who obediently surrendered Sheldon's spot to him. Penny gave her place on the couch to Amy and curled up on Leonard's lap on the chair, pulling him close. She might not understand how anyone could get this attached to a machine, but she knew when people were in pain.

"It just kept on rolling, sending back all that information," Amy said. "Like a loyal dog pleasing its master."

"So loyal," Sheldon moaned. 

"I get all that. I guess I don't get how you can be so sad over a machine though. It sounds like it did all its creators hoped for and more."

"Human neurochemistry is fascinating stuff, Penny. We can make bonds with so many things, not necessarily living ones. Like cars. I get weepy every time I trade in my car," Amy said.

Penny nodded. "Okay, I get it. Like the time Raj fell for Siri."

Leonard snorted. "Exactly. But it goes beyond that. Before NASA declared Opportunity dead, it sent back a message."

"My battery is low and it’s getting dark," Sheldon said, his voice hitching.

Leonard's lips trembled, and Amy brushed at her eyes. Even Penny felt her chest tightening at that. 

"Opportunity basically made a deathbed utterance," Amy said.

"Oh my god, that is so sad." Penny kissed Leonard's cheek. 

"Now you know why Sheldon and I were crying."

Penny nodded, unfurling from Leonard's lap. She got a bottle of wine and poured drinks for all of them, just a tiny bit in Sheldon's glass. "I think this calls for a toast." She raised her glass. "To Opportunity."

"Opportunity!"


End file.
